The Hunger Games Trilogy : One-Shot Stories
by HPRocksMe
Summary: A series of one-shots from The Hunger Games Trilogy depicting various incidents from Peeta's POV. The chapters are not in chronological order and may jump between the books. Some incidents will be the missing moments of the books. Others may have dialogues from the books taken verbatim to maintain the authenticity with the canon. Any feedback or review is highly appreciated.
1. The Career Pack

**The Career Pack**

I wake up with a start. Its middle of the night and I am curled like a fetus under a tree. I had never planned on sleeping but I guess the last sleepless night in the training center and the fatigue of running through the woods all day had won over. I was just trying to take some rest and I must have fallen asleep. I know something has woken me up. _Is it the cold, a sound, a bad dream, an intuition, what?_ Suddenly, I feel the hairs on my neck stand up and my heart starts beating faster. And then I hear them.

They are hunting in a pack. They are loud and they are laughing. They don't care who can hear them, they are here to intimidate others. And why shouldn't they, they are the careers, they have earned it. They are scourging the woods for the rest of us. And they won't hesitate to kill when they find one.

I get up immediately and start to run away from their direction. But my legs are making too much noise and I know they'll hear me. And they do. They are running after me now and soon I can hear their laughter just a short distance behind me.

"Who's that?" I hear one of the girls ask.

"I think that's the boy from 12." Another girl says.

"Oh ... the Lover Boy." I hear a boy's voice. I think it's the district 2 boy, Cato.

I am still running and they are following me, coming close every second.

"I can get him from here." A girl says.

And I feel it, before I can hear it. Something zapping behind me disturbing the air with full force. I move my head just in time as a knife whizzes near my right ear and gets stuck in a tree. But I twist my ankle in my attempt to escape the knife and fall near the tree.

"Ah ... bad luck, Clove." Cato says.

Now they are almost upon me. This is it ... but I am not going to go without a fight. I scramble up on my legs as a sharp pain shoots from my twisted ankle. I disregard the pain and quickly yank the knife out from the tree. I turn just in time to see a spear hurling towards me. I swing my left hand to divert its direction, but it still scrapes a chunk of the skin from my arm.

The District 1 boy is first to reach me. He has a longer knife in his hand and he slashes with it near my chest. But this time, I am ready, I move just out of his reach and push him away with my shoulder. He loses his balance for a second but he is on his feet again. He now faces me, knife in his hand and anger on his face. We revolve around each other waiting for the other to strike. I am limping a bit from my twisted ankle and my arm has started bleeding soaking my jacket.

The remaining careers are just standing there watching us. There's Cato and three girls. The lights from their torches illuminates the area around. I know they'll be upon me in a second if they feel I'm getting an upper hand.

Me and the boy from 1, we strike at each other a couple of times but we both miss. I have to do something unexpected to unhinge him. So, I suddenly hurl my whole body towards him and grab his midsection. I lift him and throw him onto the ground, falling on him myself. I have done this so many times during my wrestling matches, but at those times my opponent doesn't have a knife. This one however does, but my maneuver is so quick that he is not able to hold on to his knife. Now, he is unarmed and I have a knife and I am on top of him. I can do it, slice his neck in a jiffy, but I hesitate. And that moment of hesitation is my undoing.

He pushes me off from himself and now Cato is upon me. He slashes his sword at me and I roll over to escape the hit. I quickly stand on my feet and slash my knife at him. I manage to scratch his arm. But he is quick and when I try to slash again he easily moves out of the range and grabs my armed hand. He twists it behind my back. He then grabs my head with his other hand and pushes me on to a nearby tree. Now I'm pinned between him and the tree. He shoves my face, pressing my cheek to the hard bark, where the rough surface bruises me.

"So, the baker's boy can cut more than bread with a knife." He says angrily. He moves my face slowly so the bark now cuts my cheek. A scream escapes my lips involuntarily.

"Yes ... scream Lover Boy. Scream for your girlfriend. Where is she anyway? Did she ditch you?"

I don't know anything about Katniss, last I knew she was going for a nearby backpack at the Cornucopia. But I know she is alive ... I didn't see her picture in the sky.

I try to lift my leg and kick Cato from behind but I loose my footing and slide down on to the ground. Cato turns my head with a jerk and his hand is on my neck choking me and pressing the back of my head onto the tree.

"Any last message for your girl?" He asks me. "Once, I am done with you, I'm going to find her and then I'll give her such a death that the whole country will forget about the girl on fire. The stunts, you two have pulled in these last days ... well lets just say they were not very beneficial for us."

I believe, he is upset about our fiery entrance, Katniss outscoring him and our star-crossed lover angle. Yes, we must have gained some favors and stolen their sponsors. But hearing him talk about Katniss this way; it frightens me to my core. Suddenly, I am not scared for my life anymore but for hers. _What is this brute going to do to her?_ My protective feeling for her surfaces again.

"You won't be able to catch her?" I manage to say.

Hearing me talk, he loosens his grip from my neck a bit.

"What did you say?" He asks me.

I take a big gulp of air and say, "I said you won't be able to catch her ..." and suddenly an idea strikes me. "... not without my help." His face frowns. "This arena ... this is like a home to her ... she knows how to survive in woods."

But I stop myself. I can't tell them about her hunting skills ... whole nation is watching this. If I tell him about her illegal trips to woods, she and her family will be in trouble. So I change my tactics.

"I've seen her in the training center. She knows how to set traps, make fire, climb trees. You can't catch her because you can't think like her." I say to him.

"And you can?" He asks me amusingly.

"I've spent last 5 days with her and I've spent my school days watching her. I have a pretty good idea of how she operates. For example, right now, her first aim is to look for water, and since she can't go to the lake near the Cornucopia, she will be looking for water elsewhere. I can help you find her." I say with conviction.

Cato now stands back allowing me to stand on my feet. I still have the knife in my hand but I am not going to use it. I have to gain their trust.

"And why do you want to help us? Did she break your heart?" Cato asks me.

"She was shocked just like others. She even shoved me and injured my hands." I tell him showing my hands which are still scarred. "But I know, she trusts me and that might help to lure her in."

"And you will be fine, when we kill her?" He asks smirking.

"Obviously, I don't want to be the one to kill her. But she is still my competitor. And after all, there is just one Victor, right?" I say to him smirking back.

"So you want to join our pack?"

"Who wouldn't take a chance on surviving a few more days, Cato. I promise, you won't regret this." I say sincerely.

Cato looks at me weighing my words.

"Just kill him, Cato" District 1 girl says. I think her name is Glimmer.

"Yeah ... I don't trust him." District 1 boy says.

"We can catch her on our own. She can't escape forever." District 4 girl says.

Cato looks at all of them, then looks at District 2 girl, Clove. He raises his eyebrows asking her opinion. My life hangs on her vote, I guess.

"He might be useful." She says. "He can fight. And we can always kill him anytime." She looks at me threateningly.

Cato thinks for a while then nods his head.

"OK, you can come with us. But if you put one toe out of line, Lover Boy, my sword will find your heart."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Name's Peeta. And I'm not stupid, Cato ... l know, I'm alone against you five. I know where I stand."

"Alright, Lover Boy." He says disregarding my name. "Let's move on and find others before the morning."

"My knife, please." Clove comes to me with her outstretched hand.

I want to hold on to it, but everyone is watching me and its like a test for me now. I need to pass to get an entry in their coven. I smile at her and give the knife back.

"Let's put some bandage on that arm." She says and pulls out a roll from her pocket. She helps me tie it on my bloody arm, constantly watching my face. Her face remains impassive and she is really hard to read. She may have given me her vote but I have a feeling that she trusts me the least.

"Let's move." Cato says when we are done.

I follow them, now a part of the fearless Career Pack. And as I walk behind them, I look up at the sky and smile slowly, for the benefit of the sponsors.

**A/N: So here is my take on how Peeta joined the Careers. Your thoughts? More incidents involving careers are in my pipeline. Please leave a review. **


	2. The Bread

**The Bread**

"Oh no! not another one." Mom says.

I look away from the oven to watch mom. She is looking at the backyard from the window.

"I'm fed up with these seam kids going through our trash." She humphs and goes out through the back door. I never get why she gets so upset about the trash ... I mean it's the trash ... we don't want the things in trash. What's the big deal if others want it? But we don't argue with mom. That's like the number one unspoken rule in our house.

"Get your hand off that trash." She screams. "Move on girl, do you want me to call the peacekeepers." I come and stand behind her on the doorway to look at the poor soul, then I do a double take. It's Katniss.

"You kids are a nuisance." Mom is continuing with her tirade, yelling hurtful words at her. "Pawing through my trash like a street dog. Go now, scram, shoo."

Katniss closes the lid of the trash and moves backwards. She sees me looking and drops her eyes probably in embarrassment. Mom comes inside grumbling. I keep watching Katniss as she goes around the pen and slumps below the apple tree. She is drenched and she seems to be shivering. And she looks weak ... so weak. I had watched her health deteriorate in last few weeks. But today she looks emaciated. My heart sinks seeing her lying like that.

"Take care of the bread, Peeta." Mom snaps at me. I quickly go over to the ovens to take them out.

I look at the ten loaves in the oven. I can give her one. Surely it's not going to hurt Mom's budget. But I know, generosity is not her high point. I start taking out loaves one by one and put them in a tray. Then an idea strikes me. I drop one loaf in the fire beneath the grill. I quickly look at Mom but she is busy rolling the dough. I drop another one. I take the remaining ones out and let the two loaves burn.

I had remembered the incident. Dad had accidentally dropped a loaf once and mom had asked him to throw it out. But he had taken it out and cleaned the burnt portions. The bread was fine from inside. And it was cinnamon flavored, my favorite. We had enjoyed eating the fresh warm bread.

"Peeta, take those breads out." Mom screams breaking my reverie. I jump at her voice and my hands hit the stack of pans on the table. They fall down making a lot of clattering noise. I ignore the pans and quickly take the burnt breads out of the oven. The outsides are charred black. For a second, I'm scared that I've burnt too much. But in another second, the thought is gone as Mom stands beside me screaming in my ears.

"I give you one thing to do and you mess that up. Where is your mind? You stupid fool." She is furious. "You know how much peacekeepers give us for these nut filled breads. You useless brat." And she hits my face hard with the rolling-pin she is holding.

A blackness engulfs my head and I see stars in front of my eyes.

"What are we going to do with these?" She screams again.

"I'll feed them to the pigs." I mumble and pick the two loaves. I go out the back door into the rain.

"Yeah ... feed them to the pig, you stupid creature! Why not? No one decent will buy burned bread!" She yells behind my back.

I go to the pen and starts throwing little black chunks into the trough. I know Katniss is watching me but I don't look at her. I hear the front bell ring. I quickly turn around and see that Mom has vanished. Then, I throw the two loaves in Katniss' direction without looking at her. I go back into the kitchen and close the back door.

Mom enters the kitchen as I pick up the fallen pans. "Go change your pants. You are getting all mud into my kitchen. Then come back and clean the floor." She says angrily. I look her and she is still glowering at me. "You think I'm some kind of a monster, don't you? You just don't get how hard I've to try to make the ends meet. And all you do is waste the food which gives us money."

"I'm sorry, Mom." I say in a small voice, with my head down. I act all regretful but on the inside, I am really proud of myself. As I leave the kitchen, I take a peek through the window. Katniss and the breads are gone. I can't help but smile a little. But I quickly stop because my face hurts like hell.

**A/N: Here's the story of The Bread, that started it all for Katniss. Please leave a feedback.  
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	3. The 'Star-Crossed Lovers' Plan

**The 'Star-Crossed Lovers' Plan**

It looks like tonight will be another sleepless night in the training center, just like the earlier ones. I sigh. It has happened every night. I try to sleep without any success. Then, I go out on the roof and walk for a while, come to bed and then slowly I succumb to fatigue only to be waken up in few hours. Somehow, I feel, that tonight walking won't work either. Something is bugging my head. I got '8' in my training score, that's not bad compared to others. And Katniss got '11' ... well I knew she would get more than me ... but '11' ... and after what she did with the gamemakers. That was really surprising. I guess they liked her attitude or ... may be they gave her '11' to put her as a number one threat. She will be on top of the killing list of other tributes, mainly the Careers. I quickly get up and go out of the room.

I hear voices from the dining room and I automatically go towards them. Haymitch is sitting with someone else having drink. As I come close, I recognize the man. He is Chaff, District 11 mentor. It's weird seeing all these mentors being friends; I mean their tributes are going to kill each other in next few days. I hear Haymitch say "poor Finnick" and both him and Chaff laugh. Then Haymitch sees me and waves to me.

"Come, come Peeta ... can't sleep?" He asks.

"No." I say sitting on the chair next to him.

"I better be going." Chaff says. "Need to prepare my kids for tomorrow."

"The big guy you got this time ... he looks like a winner." Haymitch says to him.

"Yeah ... not worried about him. It's the little girl. She has taken a fancy to your girl, you know." He says.

Haymitch snorts.

"Well see you tomorrow ... good night." He says to both of us and leaves.

"Isn't it hard being friends?" I ask Haymitch.

"Sometimes ... but we understand each other ... we are all in the same boat."

"When I came, you said, 'poor Finnick' ... you mean Finnick Odair?" Everyone knows Finnick. He is the most popular and loved Victor of the whole Panem.

"Yeah" and he laughs again.

"Its hard to imagine him being described as 'poor'."

"You don't know half of it. Poor guy has lots of issues." He says and chuckles again. "Love issues." He adds.

"Who doesn't?" I say instinctively.

He frowns and stares at me oddly. "You got a girlfriend back home?" He asks.

"No" I say quickly, "No one back home." I sigh and shake my head. No use dwelling on my love issues. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?" I ask him to change the topic.

"Preparation for the tribute interview. Content and presentation. We need to come up with something so they remember you." He says scowling and starts scratching his head. _Poor Haymitch. What can he come up with, so people remember me?_

"Katniss won't have a problem ... she got 11." I say trying to cheer him up.

He huffs. "Yes ... but she doesn't come off as very likable."

"What's not to like?" I say surprised. "Everyone likes her back at school. Most of them are in awe of her. And didn't you see her in the parade. She looked so beautiful and ... umm ... memorable."

"That she did." He says and then he looks at me scrutinizing. "Do you like her?" He asks suddenly.

"No." I reply quickly. "Not that way ... " But I look down not meeting his eyes. I feel my cheeks flushing.

"You do like her ... that way." He says and starts guffawing. "... Oh no ... this is cruel."

I shake my head. I'm in such a mess. No use hiding from Haymitch. I look at him angrily.

"Go ahead laugh ... it doesn't matter anyway. I have limited days left." I say in contempt.

That shuts him up.

"Don't write yourself out yet." He says, "People like nice guys. You just have to say something to win their hearts."

"Yeah like the poor guy from 12, who is in love with a fellow tribute." I say sarcastically.

And then suddenly we both look at each other. And for once I know, we are thinking the same thing.

"That's not a bad idea." He says slowly.

"No one will believe it."

"We don't care about everyone ... only the handful, who can be our sponsors ... we need to convince them."

He actually thinks we can pull this off. _But Katniss ..._

"Katniss will never go with this." I say voicing my doubts.

"We don't need to tell her ... not until you announce it publicly. But since you two are training together ..."

"You can coach us separately." I suggest.

He thinks for a while again scratching his head. "That will work." He says finally.

But I still have doubts. "How will I confess publicly? What if Caesar Flickerman doesn't ask me anything about it?" I ask.

"Caesar meets all the mentors before the interviews to get some inside scoop." He tells me, "I'll give him something so he goes in that direction ... I'll think of something. We will work on this content tomorrow ... this could be good, Peeta." He says and he is smiling now.

"How do you think Katniss will react to this?" I am really worried about her reaction.

"She will be mad, I guess but once we tell her our plan ... she might be OK." He says.

"So she won't believe that I've feelings for her?" I ask him almost hopefully.

He frowns. "Do you really want her to believe that? To find out about the truth?" He asks me.

He is right, it's no use. "No ... I guess not ... it's too late now." I reply.

"Yes ... and I don't think she will believe." He says. "Even if the circumstances were different, she would be hard to convince."

I nod. And finally, I feel a little lighter at heart. "So you really think this will help her?"

"It will help both of you."

I smirk. "I don't stand a chance Haymitch ... and you know it." I say and can almost see him agreeing to it. "It would be better if we can help her win. It would be better for the district. We should concentrate on her ... don't you think?"

He sighs. "You know, I hate self-righteous people." He says with loathing.

"You hate everyone Haymitch."

"That's true ... no one's worthy of my love." Then he looks at me oddly and shakes his head. "Go to bed, Peeta ... you have a long day ahead. And I've some thinking to do."

"Good night, Haymitch."

"Good night, Peeta."

And for once, I have a good sleep in my training center quarter.

**A/N: I always wondered why Peeta said that he came up with the plan when Katniss shoved him. I always thought it would be Haymitch. So I imagined this scenario and thought may be this is how it happened. Feedbacks and Reviews are welcome.**


	4. District 8 Girl Tribute

**District 8 Girl Tribute**

We have been combing the woods almost the whole night. The dawn is approaching and we haven't found a single tribute to kill. Deep inside I'm happy about it. The Careers seem tired now. They walk silently through the woods.

Suddenly Glimmer points at the far end and then holds her finger on her lips to convey us to be silent. I look in the direction and I make out an orange glow. Someone had made fire to escape the cold. My heart sinks. _Could that be Katniss?_ But then I immediately relax. _It can't be ... she is not that stupid_. But whoever it is, he/she is dead now.

We walk quietly for a few yards, then the Careers break into a run and quickly surround her. The girl, I believe from District 8, is cocooned in her jacket. She suddenly wakes up and seeing us, screams on top of her voice. Cato smiles as he pulls his sword.

"Please don't kill me." She pleads pathetically. All the careers laugh. They are not the ones to show mercy. Cato kisses his sword. "Please ... please ... no ... no." she starts howling now. Cato plunges his sword in her stomach, twist it and then pulls it out. She falls down with a gut wrenching scream, blood oozing all over her mid section.

The Careers High-five each other and I pat Cato's back to offer my congratulations.

"Twelve down and eleven to go!" Marvel says.

"Yay!" Glimmer jumps up pumping her fists. At last their night foraging has yielded some result.

We check the girls pockets, but don't find much except some crackers and a match box.

"Nothing useful on her." Ariel, the District 4 girl says.

"Better clear out so they can get the body before it starts stinking." Cato says.

"Yeah lets move on." Clove says. And we start walking. Cato suddenly stops after walking a few yards.

"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" He says.

"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately." Marvel replies.

"Unless she isn't dead." Clove says frowning.

"She's dead. I stuck her myself." Cato snaps at her.

"Then where's the cannon?" Clove asks him lifting her eyebrows.

"Someone should go back. Make sure the job's done." Marvel says.

"Yeah, we don't want to have to track her down twice." Glimmer says.

"I said she's dead!" Cato says forcefully.

"What's wrong in checking again ... we are hardly few yards away." Ariel says. And they all start bickering.

It irritates me the way they are discussing her murder.

"We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and let's move on!" I say a bit loudly to shut them all up.

They all stare at me.

"Go on, then, Lover Boy," Cato says. "See for yourself."

I turn around to leave but Clove is standing right in my way. She silently hands me one of her knives. I take it and she moves out of the way.

I reach the girl as quickly as my limping leg allows. The blood is flowing freely from her stomach but she is still breathing ... very slowly. Her body jerks intermittently. She is almost dead. I kneel near her. Her eyes widen with fear as she sees me. I cringe at the look she is giving me ... as if I am some monster who is going to eat her alive. And at that instant, I hate everything about myself, about the Hunger Games, about the Capitol. I hold her bloody hand in mine and lock my eyes with her.

"I know you are in lot of pain," I say to her, "but it'll be easier and faster if you let go. Trust me, you will be going to a better place." Her eyes narrow down and she blinks at me. She opens her mouth to say something but a fit of cough stops her. Blood starts dripping from her mouth as well.

"I'm going to close your eyes now." I tell her. I want her dead quickly. One of the Careers might come back and check on me. I put my hand on her eyes to close them. I bring my mouth near her ear and whisper. "I am sorry." Within 5 seconds, she takes her last breath.

I take my knife and smear it with her blood. Then I walk back towards the careers.

"Was she dead?" Cato asks as I reach the group.

"No. But she is now," I say showing them the bloody knife. The cannon booms. "Ready to move on?" I say wiping the knife with my jacket. I move ahead walking quickly and they all follow behind me. We hear a high-pitch note after couple of minutes and we all stop on our tracks. We all turn around to see a hovercraft materialize way back. But as I am looking up, something rustles by. I look down and suddenly my eye catches something in a near-by bush. I kneel down, and see a twitch-up snare hiding beneath the foliage. I stand up quickly my heart beat going express.

Everyone is still looking back at the hovercraft, watching it lift the girl. They haven't noticed my actions. I just know ... that is Katniss' snare. I snap my head up to look at the trees. _Is she up there? Has she seen me with the Careers? If so, what is she thinking about me?_ But I don't have time to ponder over these questions, I need to get the Careers out of here.

"What's wrong? Is someone up there?" Clove asks me. She has caught me watching the trees.

"No, I was just trying to get the sense of direction." I lie smoothly. "I think we should head back to Cornucopia. The supplies are unprotected. And then there's lake. Any one who hasn't found water yet, will try to get it from the lake. We can catch them there. Anyways its morning now ... everyone will be more alert. No use combing the woods anymore."

"He is right. Let's head back." Cato says. And we all start towards the Cornucopia, away from Katniss and her traps.

**A/N: I always thought Peeta didn't finish off the District 8 girl. This is my take on her dying. Your thoughts?**


	5. The Reaping

The Reaping

"Primrose Everdeen".

Effie announces the name of the girl tribute. My eyes automatically goes towards Katniss. She is in shock. She probably would have fallen down if another boy from Seam wasn't holding her arm. All around me, I hear the whisper of discontent. No one wants a 12-year old in Hunger Games. And Primrose, everyone likes her, the Seam crowd and the Merchants alike. Her father was a miner but her mother is from Merchants' section and Prim has inherited her looks.

I see her walking towards the podium, her blouse untucked from her skirt. And then Katniss is shouting her name, "Prim ... Prim."

"I volunteer" she screams, "I volunteer as tribute".

Now its my turn to be shocked. Although, I should have guessed this as soon as Prim's name was announced. Katniss would never allow anything or anyone to hurt her little sister. But it's like I am in a trance. All I am thinking is _'No, No, No, ... not Katniss, not Katniss ... she can't go ... she can't go to Hunger Games ... she won't survive ... I won't see her again ... not her ... not her'_.

I see the scene happening at the front but I am not registering it. Gale taking Prim away, Effie taking Katniss to the podium and talking to her. It's only when my friend Alec elbows me that I come out of my reverie. All around me people are raising their left hands. They are saying 'good bye' to her.

_But I can't do it, I can't say good bye to her, not Katniss_.

I haven't even talked to her once ... and now I never will. And I start thinking about all the moments when I should have gone to her, made friends with her, get to know her. All those lost opportunities ... which will never come. If only, I could have talked to her just once ... if only I could have seen her giving me one of those smile which she reserves only for Prim ... just once ...

I look at the podium and see Haymitch falling from it. I see Katniss, standing there bravely. _what's going in her mind? _She must be thinking how her family will survive without her. And selfishly, I am thinking, how will I?

"Peeta Mellark"

I suddenly hear my name ... _who said that?_ All around me I hear a sigh of relief and then everyone is looking at me. _Did Effie just call my name?_ She must have because Alec is nudging me to move. I am still not over the shock of Katniss being a tribute. I walk towards the podium, my mind still in some confusion. As I climb up the steps, I slowly start to come in terms with what had just happened. And the first thing I feel is fear.

Effie asks for volunteers. I automatically look at my elder brother Oscar, who is standing in the 18-year olds section. He is looking down shaking his head. I am not sure if he is saying no to me or he is just feeling helpless to do anything about it. Obviously, I don't expect him to volunteer. I look at my family standing outside the rope perimeter. I look at Mom who is expressionless, my eldest brother Rick, who is nodding as someone near by is patting his back, probably offering condolences. Then I look at my father, and even from this far distance I can see my fear reflected in his eyes. He knows it ... just like I do. I am going to die in the arena along with Katniss.

_Katniss ... now there's a silver lining. _

The Mayor starts reading the dull Treaty, which no one listens or even cares about. I however, start thinking about my good byes. My Mom is strong, she will be fine. My brothers, well, they will get over it. My Dad, he will be the hardest. He will miss me the most. Then my friend Alec, what will he say? He would probably start with teasing me about Katniss. Because that's what he always does in school. But I know, he will be the only one, who will keep a positive attitude and will push me to find a way to survive. But how can I? I don't know how to use any weapons, I don't know how to survive in wilderness, I don't know how to hunt like Katniss.

And then it strikes me ... Katniss can survive. She can hunt, and she is good with the bow ... _but can she kill?_

The Mayor finishes his speech and then motions us to shake hands. It's the first time that I have met her eyes and not turned away. I don't know what's going in her mind, but it doesn't matter ... I have gotten my dying wish ... Katniss Everdeen has at last noticed me. The silver lining becomes a bit brighter. In these few remaining days of my life, I can talk to her, get to know this wonderful girl. May be we can become friends and may be ... just may be I can help her in the arena. Somehow, someway I have to help her survive. I shake her hand without breaking the eye contact and then give her hand a gentle squeeze.

**A/N: Well ... here it is, the first reaping of Peeta and Katniss. I am going to write about their second reaping too ... sometime soon in future.**


End file.
